Editorial

Abstract

2023 has marked an alarming climate milestone, with the highest temperatures since climate records began. November, in particular, reached its highest-ever figure, 2ºC above pre-industrial levels, raising the annual global average to 1.25ºC above the pre-industrial average. These data show that we are close to exceeding the 1.5ºC threshold set in the Paris Agreement[1] for 2045, currently predicting that this will be exceeded in 2034[2].

Seven years after the Agreement's implementation, we have seen a growing global commitment, with countries, regions, cities, and companies setting carbon neutrality targets. However, 53.8 Gt CO₂eq was emitted globally in 2022, 2.3% more than in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic[3], with China, the United States, India, the EU27, Russia, and Brazil emitting 61.6% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

[1] The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international climate change treaty. 196 Parties at COP21 adopted it on December 12^th, 2015, and came into force on November 4^th, 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming, compared to pre-industrial levels, to below 2°C and, preferably, under 1.5°C.

[2] https://climate.copernicus.eu/weve-lost-19-years-battle-against-global-warming-paris-agreement

[3] Crippa, M., Guizzardi, D., Pagani, F., Banja, M., Muntean, M., Schaaf E., Becker, W., Monforti-Ferrario, F., Quadrelli, R., Risquez Martin, A., Taghavi-Moharamli, P., Köykkä, J., Grassi, G., Rossi, S., Brandao De Melo, J., Oom, D., Branco, A., San-Miguel, J., Vignati, E., GHG emissions of all world countries, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2023, doi:10.2760/953322, JRC134504.